NAACP coming to Naples this week for Leadership 500 Summit

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous talks to a reporter during an open forum on police misconduct, sponsored by the NAACP, in Sanford, Fla., Wednesday, March 21, 2012. The event was held in response to reaction after teenager Trayvon Martin was recently shot and killed by a neighborhood watch captain and the lack of charges filed by police in the city.(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

NAPLES - The NAACP will host a four-day national meeting in Naples this week, bringing in hundreds of members and leaders from across the country.

It will be the first time the organization holds the Leadership 500 Summit in this area.

Focused on attracting mid-career individuals as active members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the conference is in its ninth year.

While social media gets the word out to young people, and older generations often participate because they've been members from the Civil Rights era, the organization uses events like the Leadership Summit to involved professionals from their mid-20s to mid-40s, spokesman Ben Wrobel said.

"We're basically trying to bring that group into the NAACP," he explained.

About 350 people are expected to attend at the Waldorf Astoria Naples beginning Thursday and running through Sunday.

The focal points of the conference on Friday will be strategy sessions for NAACP advocacy on issues such as economic empowerment, criminal justice and entrepreneurship.

A town hall meeting on Saturday, "21st Century Black Women," will address issues affecting women of color, like employment, gender equality and trafficking.

The annual event also has contributed nearly $1 million to the NAACP, according to the organization.

"(It) offers current and aspiring leaders the chance to connect with peers who share their passion for social justice," NAACP Board of Directors Chairman Roslyn Brock said in a written statement. "We will bring together politicians, teachers, entrepreneurs, athletes and business leaders who all have one thing in common: a dedication to civil and human rights in their personal lives and in their careers."

NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous is scheduled to attend. Harold Weeks, president of the Collier County chapter of the NAACP, also will attend the event.

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Registration for the summit is now closed, however the Saturday morning town hall will be shown live online and open to the public at www.L500.org.